Super Bowl XLVIII Prediction: Entire ESPN Staff Will Be Wrong

I’m from Seattle and I’m a huge Seahawks fan.

Although the above is true, it’s also true that I had aspirations of being journalist at one point in college, I never cheat at sports and I only lie when I’m planning a surprise for someone (like when I was shopping for my wife’s wedding ring and told her I was working late all the time). Some of you may be yelling “Nerd!” at the computer screen or planning ways to shake me down. That’s totally cool and understandable. As long as I can also lay the groundwork for a short prediction article full of integrity and truthiness, it’s all good.

And so…

The Seattle Seahawks will win in a close Super Bowl over the Denver Broncos that could go either way.

I think Seattle will win not because I’m the kind of guy who grows his beard according to whether the Seahawks win or lose (although I am that kind of guy), but because I’m the kind of guy who wants to believe that smash-mouth, defensive-minded football can still win championships.

I wouldn’t be surprised (or even upset) if Peyton Manning led his team to victory between the brand new commercials from Pepsi, Go Daddy and Bud Light that the masses really tune in for. He runs a deadly offense and Denver is a very good football team (a better defense, by the way, would put them in the “best of all time” conversation).

That said, I have a hard time believing Seattle’s top-ranked defense will crumble on Sunday. All their offense will need to do is exactly what it has been doing all season: score at least one more point than the opponent. That rough, physical defense was stingy and consistent all year long. But most importantly, it was built that way specifically to get the team to where it is now.

I think the game will have at least four or five lead changes and much more scoring than most experts and analysts are predicting from the blue birds. Denver will put up more points against the Seahawks than others have this season, but that battle-tested defense will hold up like Hugh Hefner’s prenup in key moments.

I also see Russell Wilson running around like he’s on fire while being chased by rabid dogs, on his way to making more “holy shit!” plays than America ever thought possible.

Wilson and his undervalued receiving core will remind us all that although Peyton Manning is an amazing QB and throws more touchdowns than Bieber has pending convictions, there’s more to life than breaking individual statistical records.